


Lost and Found

by Altamiya



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Al is 7, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Gen, Kid Fic, Power of Friendship, they/them pronouns for Envy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 15:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13883382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Altamiya/pseuds/Altamiya
Summary: Homonculi are powerful merpeople at the bottom of the ocean. When Envy loses the source of their power and Al finds it, what will happen? And what is Greed plotting in all this?Written for the Envy mini bang, inspired by the awesome art of Jack Tsuki ( jacktsukidoodles.tumblr.com) of mermaid!envy





	Lost and Found

Deep within the ocean, there were treasures, wonders no surface dweller ever saw or, if seen, had survived to tell the tale. There were secrets beneath the tides, and whispers of strange creatures from the depths.

 

In the world of silence, legends were born. One of them, one of the few from which echoes managed to reach mankind, was the story of a hidden but absolute power, at the center of the oceans. The whole world was rotating around it, not knowing what it owed it. It was a large red stone, clear as crystal but still as deep as blood, strong and fragile at the same time, a shining light where none came through the dark waters above. It brought life, magic, and protection around it. Inside the rock, at the center of the center of the universe, there was an entity. It was trapped and had been for eons, and nobody knew if it was born inside the stone, or if maybe it was the stone. But it had a voice, and its words had power. It had emotions and moods. But moreover, it had a soul, a dark and blackened soul, full of sins.

And thus was the power of the stone that the sins were brought to life, each one carrying a part of its power, in a small chunk of the sacred rock they carried around their necks.

 

They were power and water, magic and fury, rulers of the depths and predators of the surface. They were seven, each one of them carrying a particular power that no other could have. Fate had it that their shapes were half-human half-animal, like their souls driven only by sin were.

 

The oldest of them was Envy. A flurry of black and green scales, feathers, skins, and anything in between. Envy had no shape, they were born alike the shapeless entity inside the rock. Their heart was a hole they tried to fill, and as their name stated, they were envious of the whole world. They tried all the shapes, tried to become anything, but it never was enough to fill the hole inside. 

They had a shape that was more them, the one they took when they were at rest. It was one of a merperson, the top part a human being, ageless, sexless, long dark green hair flowing in the currents and smile that was never sincere enough and on the verge of threatening. From the waist down, it was a long fish-like tail, covered in emerald green scales, with diaphane fins dancing around its form, creating veils and curtains to cover them from the prying eyes of the world. Their fangs were powerful and sharp enough to crack open a sea turtle shell and eat what was inside and they swam faster than a creature of this size should be able to. 

  
  


Envy didn’t like their siblings but they tolerated Lust and Gluttony with a marked preference for Lust but one didn’t go without the other. She was the most beautiful creature on Earth, her black scales and hair mesmerizing as they danced in the currents, her voice the stuff of legend. They spent a lot of time together in one of the caves, the walls glittering with crystals of all colors.

 

“We should do be ruling the world.” Envy said, swimming in circles. “Why can humans rest under the sun while we have to hide here? Why do they have everything and we remain stuck in caves, in darkness and cold?”

“You know Father has a plan, and we have to wait for it to be ready. We will take our rightful place. But until then…”

“Until then what? Are you content enough to stuff yourself with slimy seaweed and bony fishes when we deserve so much more?”

“Careful. You know what happened last time someone was thinking like that.”

“I’m not him. I don’t want to overthrow Father, I just want him to do something, anything.”

“Be patient, Envy”

“I’m the one who waited the most. You’ll see when you’re my age.”

 

Lust leveled them a glare, expressing clearly what she thought of their birthright. She raised her hand and speared an eel passing by with one of her extensible talon-sharp nails.

“Do you want some?”

“No thanks,” they grumbled, before leaving her before she fed Gluttony. Him eating wasn’t a very nice sight.

  
  


They turned towards the crystal. It was dull this day, Father not wanting to communicate, or being asleep, or whatever he did when he was in this state. The water around was colder and darker when the crystal’s light was muted like that. Touching their own part of the stone, Envy turned into a tiger shark and swam away. They always used another shape when going away as their existence was almost forgotten in the outside world. And there was protection and power in being forgotten. But that didn’t mean one had to renounce the thrill of the hunt.

  
  


Water flew at their sides, gaining speed as they did.

They had caught some fish, little silver lights in the dark ocean. But it wasn’t enough. They needed more, they needed bigger.

 

They kept going, upper and upper, closer to the surface. Light shining through the water brought light and warmth to their skin. There was a thrill in swimming into open waters, with no rocks or caves to hide in.

 

Not far from them, they heard dolphins chattering. Dolphins. They were intelligent little buggers, and humans loved them apparently. Envy was overwhelmed by a need to kill them, rip them apart, destroy them for everyone to see. Pieces and parts of dolphins had to be flying, as they weren’t able to get to humans. Father had forbidden it for now. Envy took a bigger form, something that didn’t exist anymore in the oceans, but that they had kept in their memory. Envy’s form was as monstrous as their soul now, big, scaly, dangerous, muscles moving under the skin, making their scales shine under the low light of the ocean. They were power unbound. They began moving, ready to strike. The group of dolphins was finally in their sights. They roared, sending them scrambling for safety. Too little, too late.

They sliced through the animals like it was nothing, as easy as they sliced through currents. The translucent water was muddled with red blood, the smell driving them crazy. They ripped the smallest dolphins to shred with their powerful jaws. Gore still clinging to their snout, they attacked again.

In their bloodlust, they didn’t notice that in their struggles, the dolphins had managed to almost knock lose the Stone they wore.

  
  


After a moment, Envy was satiated. Pieces of their prey were floating upwards, and a flock of other sea animals was circling the carnage, waiting for their turn at the leftovers. The massive form of Envy moved away, lazily moving towards a strong current that could carry them while they napped. Once there, settling to sleep, they let go of their monstrous form, too big to keep for a long time, to get back to their casual form, not needing to think to get it back. Soothed by the current, they fell asleep, their hair and fins spreading around them softly.

  
  


When they woke up, they felt groggy. Something was wrong. With a yawn that should have been powerful enough to unhinge their jaw, they moved away from the current. Their movements felt sluggish like they were weighted down by something. The current had brought them not far away from a cove and the ocean wasn’t deep. If they swam a little bit higher, they could breach the surface and breathe air for the first time in centuries. There was something tempting about the idea. They stretched lazily and wondered if they could try and turn into something inconspicuous. 

They focused, trying to turn into a small green eel. They opened their eyes again, their tail and diaphane fins still floating beneath them. With a groan, they tried again, willing their arms to disappear into small nubs at the side, retracting into fins. To no avail. They patted down their throat to find the Stone.

 

They found nothing. Panick was seizing them. If they had lost the Stone, they had lost their power and were going to be stuck into one form for the rest of their life. Who knows if they’d be able to keep their long life? Maybe they were going to grow old, being caught up by eons lived before. They were gulping on water faster than ever, gills fanning out in rhythm with their heart. No, it wasn’t possible. They wouldn't become….like anything else in the world. They were unique! They deserved to be! They didn’t just lose what made them so! They just didn’t!!

They stopped and froze. Maybe they hadn’t lost it. Maybe it was stolen. And there was only one being in the seven seas that would dare something like that. And Envy knew exactly where to find him. They could already feel their fingers gripping the thief’s throat and choke the life out of him. With a dangerous smile, they swam towards their destination.

  
  


Behind them, far behind the current, the little rock, knocked loose during their sleep, was caught up by the current, and continued its way towards the shore, unknowingly to Envy.

  
  


Deeper, in the secret part of the ocean, there was a rift. It was known to be the most beautiful place you could imagine, full of all colors of coral, the water there hotter than it should thanks to a submarine volcano upstream, bringing some tropical fishes in this part of the sea. Blues, greens, yellows, reds, spots of color and hypnotizing moves dancing under the sea, all in this particular rift. When one got close, there was also the sound of song everywhere, crystal clear voices singing in harmony. It was a small paradise, grown and designed for its owner, the most egotist being in the world: Greed.

 

In a cave of crystals, Greed was floating around, munching on some precious fish his followers had caught for him. He listened to the songs composed for him and smiled. He had made such a good choice by leaving the homunculi behind. They were too busy waiting for a stone to talk instead of just taking advantage of what they were: beings of unlimited power. Greed had taken what he wanted. He had used the magic inside of him to create beings, fusions of animals and human beings lost at sea. Mermaids. Smaller than him, just good enough to be beautiful and to make a superb collection for him to admire. He had tried it with every fish he could think of. He liked parrotfishes and surgeonfishes the most, their scales colorful and glinting under the sea.

Greed waved to one of his servants. She brought him a new platter of seafood, with lobsters longer than his arm. As he was about to reach for one of the biggest pieces on the platter, a green tornado knocked it out of his hands, also sending his followers flying away.

 

“YOU” The tornado stopped and solidified into Envy’s shape, face distorted by anger, tail flapping around.

“My favorite sibling” Greed greeted, arms open wide and a smile on his face.

“Don’t. Play. Coy. With me.” Envy was seething, their smile too big, stretching their face further than possible, fury in their eyes. “I know you have it.”

Greed let himself float back, readjusting his furry jacket.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. And if you’re here because of Father…”

“I don’t care about Father!” Envy interrupted, slamming their fist against the cave’s wall. “Where is my stone? I won’t ask it again.”

“What has crawled up your ass and died? I don’t know where your stone is and even if I knew, I’d keep it for me.”

“I’ll kill you.”

“You’ll try.”

 

They glared at each other, not letting anything go. Greed looked at Envy, who seemed...crazier than usual. Their eyes were bloodshot, they were worrying their bottom lip, drawing blood and not noticing it, and their fingers were twitching at their sides. They looked lost. And their necklace adorned with the red stone that gave all of them their power was missing. If they had lost it… Greed knew an opportunity when he saw one.

“I can help,” he said, not missing a beat.

“Help me with what?”

“Finding your lost stone.”

“Even if you could, you said it, you’d keep it.”

“Yours is not the stone I want. It’s too small. But if you helped me take Father’s….”

“Betrayal? That’s so much like you, I’m not even surprised.”

“Betrayal? Harsh word. Maybe it is. But how do you think dear Father is going to react when he notices you’re… useless. You know what happened to Sloth. Do you really want to be the next, Envy? You, the favorite child? Disgraced, exiled! You know, I built myself a good place here. You’d be welcome if they let you live after losing your power.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Envy snapped. “You’re just jealous that you could never get into Father’s good graces.”

“Jealous? Me? That’s rich coming from you, you know, the Envious one. Don’t act like you have a choice in this.”

 

Envy pulled back, chin resting on one hand, brows furrowed.

“Let’s pretend for one second I’m on board. How could you help me?”

“I have friends everywhere in the sea, where you don’t have them. If they notice something, they’ll tell me. In turn, I tell you because I’m the perfect little brother. Easy enough?”

“And what guarantees you’ll tell me and won’t take the stone for yourself?”

“You’ll have to trust, my dear sibling. I know it’s something you’ve never given to anyone. And I want it obviously. Such a rare thing….”

Envy swatted Greed’s hand away from them.

“What do you win by this?”

“What? I can’t help my sibling out of the good of my heart?”

“What heart?”

“I’m hurt.”

“You’ll survive. Sadly.”

“Envy, Envy, Envy, what other solutions do you have? Do you think Lust will help you? You just have me.”

“Fine. But if you betray me, I’ll kill you.”

“Sure, sure.”

They shook hands in agreement, each one already thinking about how to betray the other and ensure their own victory.

  
  


Far away from there, at the surface, near a small beach covered in a dirty-looking sand, the waves had brought the little red stone, covered in sticky sand and dirty rocks, unrecognizable under the natural costume. A small crab passing there caught it and brought it away from the sea before the water could take it back. A bird snatched the crab up, and the stone fell when its claw was ripped off by a powerful beak. With a clank, it fell on some rocks, not breaking, and rolling further away from the sea. It ended up jarred between two rock outcrops on a bed of moss.

 

It wasn’t long before some people came by, searching for God knows what on this isolate shore. One man, and two children, climbing through the rocks, searching in the cracks for crabs and shells that the sea had left them. The youngest of them, a small boy with light brown hair, drifting away from the group. He picked up a small iridescent shell, turning it around to see the light catching and playing on it. He put it in his pocket and kept on moving. His eye was caught, sun shining on something and a glint on the rocks near him. The boy jogged towards the red glint, getting on all fours to search for it between the rocks. With an exclamation of surprise and delight, he picked the red stone up, rubbing it against his clothes to get rid of the sand and putting it in his breast pocket quickly.

 

“Al, what are you doing up there?” The man called from the shore.

“Nothing, I’m coming, I’m coming!”

With a few jumps, the boy reached the beach and began running towards his companions, unknowing of the precious cargo he was now carrying near his heart.

 

Home was just half an hour away when walking, a little bit longer if one was too tired. It was a small wooden house, some planks beginning to detach themselves from the construction. The roof was still holding but holes were forming. It wasn’t decrepit, but nobody would say it was nice either. For Al, it was home and it had been for a few years now. Once, he had lived in a nicer house, a bigger one, full of love, in the countryside, lost in a sea of grass. Now it was just this, hidden near the actual sea. He still had his big brother, Ed, living with him. They had lost both their parents in an accident nobody wanted to explain to him. But they had been alone for a while, before Roy Mustang, their current caretaker, had come to get them at the orphanage and brought them here. Roy was a nice man, even if sometimes his laugh was fake, and his eyes got lost in the waves too easily. He tried his hardest to make them happy, so even when Al was bit sad, he hid it. Roy did his best and it wasn’t his fault he was not his mom. Ed wasn’t like that, and was sometimes rude to their caretaker, leaving Al in the middle, trying to make everyone happy.

It was always better than being back at the orphanage, even when it got rough.

 

Upon arriving, he ran up the stairs, barely paying attention to Roy’s cry of “dinner will be ready in two hours”, and closed the door behind him. On the walls, Roy and he had put some shelves made from the straightest pieces of driftwood they had found. This was where he put his collection up. With all the impatience of a seven-year-old, he pulled the stone out of his pocket and sat on his bed, looking at it.

 

It didn’t shine like it had when he noticed it, and it was grimy. Wetting a cloth with saliva, Al rubbed it, cleaned it and was amazed when his work was finished.

 

In the bed of his palm, there sat a wonderful round stone, perfectly smooth to the view and to the touch, with a color richer than any stone he had ever seen. It was more beautiful than what he imagined rubies to be. It was hot to the touch and Al could have sworn it was pulsating in his hand. He shook his head: stones didn’t pulsate. He got up from the bed and put it on the shelf. He went down for dinner when he was called, glad to have found such a piece for his private collection.

  
  


How Greed had immediately known that the stone had been picked up by a human, Envy didn’t know. But he did know he was going to get it back, and that the thief was going to suffer. While they swam, they imagined all the delightful tortures they could inflict on the poor and fragile flesh thing, the human’ screams of agony a fair payment for the panic Envy had endured since he had lost their stone.

 

Air burned in their lungs when they breached the surface for the first time since eons, sun too bright in their eyes. They blinked, resisting the urge to get back under water, away from the heat and wind.

They had emerged near a small cove, yellow sand and grey-white cliffs topped with moss and grass. The cries of seagulls, the waves ending their course gently on the shore were the only noises around. There weren’t signs of heavy human activity, no fishermen village, no port, no boats in their immediate proximity. But no human thief. Envy had half the mind to get back to Greed and punch his face in for lying to him before the rational part of their brain caught up again. It was surely the place their stone had ended up after it was lost and criminals always came back to the crime scene. Envy just had to wait patiently and he would catch their prey. Lowering themselves in the water, letting only their eyes covered by their first set of eyelids above the surface, hair spreading around them and mimicking seaweed floating around. Remaining still they waited.

  
  


For an immortal being, Envy had no patience whatsoever. Barely five minutes had passed before they let themselves splash back with a groan.

“They’ll never come. I’m going to die of old age before it. I did my waiting. Almost 15 minutes of it! In cold water! I’m bored.”

 

They swam around, letting their long tail rhythmically break the surface, enjoying the splashing sounds. That also occupied them for only a dozen minutes. 

 

Envy had almost given up when there was movement just behind a small and bumpy sand-hill. They froze, ready to attack. From behind the hill came a young boy, light-brown hair lightly tousled by the wind. His steps were light and his whole face lit up when he caught sight of the sea.

“A MERMAID” he exclaimed.

Envy winced. Okay, maybe he hadn’t noticed the ocean only.

  
  


The boy ran to the water, pants rolled up to his knees, bare feet, sending sand flying behind him.

“Are you really real?” he gasped, arms flapping like wings at his side.

Envy followed the rapid movement of his arms, getting dizzy before answering after a sobering shake of their head.

“No, I’m just talking seaweed.” they deadpanned, standing up, water at chest level.

“You don’t look like talking seaweed,” the boy said, examining them while frowning.

Before Envy could answer, he kept on, index tapping on his pouting lips:

“You look more like a talking palm tree to me.”

“A WHAT?”

“An angry palm tree.”

“Listen here you little….”

“Wow, you have fangs! And your hands aren’t palmed! That’s amazing!”

“What?”

The boy was now in the water, examining Envy from all angles.

“Can I see your gills? You do have gills, right?” The boy asked like it was a kind of test.

“Why would I?”

“Waaaw your fins are amazing! I never thought I’d have a mermaid friend!”

“Stop, stop, stop.”

Envy picked the boy by the collar to stop him from running in circles around them.

“First. I’m not a mermaid.”

“A merman?”

“No. Doesn’t matter. I’m Envy.”

“Al. Nice to meet you!” Al answered with a big goofy smile, hands outstretched.

“Whatever, fleshbag. And I’m not here to be friendly with you.”

“Why are you here then?” Al asked as if there couldn’t be any reasons to do anything except becoming friend with someone.

“I’m searching for something. Something you stole.” Envy poked them with an outstretched index, Al wincing at the jab.

 

“I didn't steal anything, Envy.”

“My stone.”

“What stone?”

“A red stone. Powerful. Precious. I know you have it. Give it back to me.”

“I don’t have it on me. I didn’t know it was yours, it was just there and it was so pretty….”

“It’s still mine, little thief.”

“I didn’t know” Al answered, choking on sobs. 

Envy felt something in them move in strange ways seeing Al cry. It was the fault of the kid if they felt weird.

“Don’t begin to cry” Envy snapped. “I could kill you right now for that.”

Al began crying in earnest.

“But I won’t.”  _ Wait, why won’t I? _ “For now.”  _ Yes, better, Envy, just make him hope before killing him.  _

“If I bring it back to you, will you be my friend?”

_ Does the fleshbag really think they have negotiating powers here? _

“We’ll see. Bring it first.”

“Can I touch your tail first?”

“Yes. You may. Once.”

“Yeah!”

Once Al got close enough to touch the iridescent scales, Envy slammed their tail hard against the surface, drenching Al with the splash. That’d teach him.

 

They were surprised when the boy just burst into laughter.

“Again!! Again!”

Not really knowing why, Envy indulged him, splashing and playing, hiding in the waves and chasing the boy with no intention of doing any harm to him. They kept convincing themself it was because they still needed him to bring back their stone. Al only left the shore when sun was setting, leaving in a hurry, sparing enough time to wave Envy goodbye. And if Envy was impatient for tomorrow to come, well it was just the stone, right?

  
  


When the next morning came, Envy swam back up to the surface, lazily stretching above the sea level, warming themself in the sun. The sea was calm that day, perfectly smooth surface as far as the eye could see. The sun reflected itself into the water, and the ocean was glinting. Envy didn’t really enjoy the show, too impatient to see Al again and find back their stone.

 

When the kid came back, he was carrying a basket between his two hands and was clearly struggling under the weight. Envy raised an eyebrow. They had just asked for the one thing.

Al finally arrived and put down his basket with a heavy sigh.

 

“That should be everything. Hello Envy!”

“Al. The stone.”

“I brought you a gift!”

“The stone I hope?”

“Nope. An apple.”

 

Al threw the fruit immediately, Envy barely catching it before it crashed smack in their face.

“It’s not what I wanted.”

“I thought you wanted to have some breakfast. Here, taste it, it’s really good!”

The boy sat down on the warm sand and took a bite of his with a groan of contentment.

“It’s so good to be here!”

Envy tentatively took a small bite of the apple. What if it was poisoned?

But it wasn’t. And it tasted good. They gulped it down in one bite.

“Wow, you like it!”

“It’s...Adequate.”

“Here, take my second one,” Al said, offering them a second apple.

“What do you want in exchange?”

“Nothing. Take it. You liked it and you ate too fast to enjoy the taste.”

 

Envy took it shyly. Nobody had ever done something for them without excepting something in return. They gingerly ate the apple in silence, taking more time to eat it. It was perfectly juicy and sweet. And the company was not bad either.

“Envy?”

“Yes.”

“Can you promise me something?”

“I don’t do promises.”

Al kicked a stone in the water with a sigh.

“I didn’t find the stone.”

“WHAT?”

Envy was about to launch themself at Al’s throat, strangling the little bugger.

“But I mean. I brought the rest of my collection! Even my favorites! You can find another one in there!”

“You...you little...IT WON’T BE THE SAME. I don’t want just any stupid rock!” Envy shouted, crawling towards Al, half-stranding themself to knock the basket over. “I need this one, not any trinket you find interesting in your little stupid brain.”

 

The kid flinched and rolled himself in a fetal position, not crying or making any noise, offering his back to be hit instead of his face.

“I didn’t know” he tried in a little voice, more tired than it had any right to be. Envy’s anger disappeared as quickly as it had begun. They settled back, lying on the wet sand, head propped on their hand, elbow in the sand.

“I don’t need your rocks. Take them back.”

“You...you won’t hit me?”

“Will it give me back what I want?”

“No….”

“Then why would I?”

“I don’t know. Because I messed up and made you angry.”

“Yeah. But wrath isn’t my thing.” Envy answered with a shrug.

 

Al unfolded himself and put the basket back upright. Slowly, he began to pick the stones and shells spread out on the beach to put them back in the basket.

“What’s with you and those things anyway?”

“I like them.”

“Why? They’re so plain.” Envy said with a pout.

“I find them nice” It was Al’s turn to shrug. “They don’t look plain to me. See this one?”

It was a little white pebble, nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yeah and?”

“It’s a stone I found in my home village before I had to leave. It may be the first stone I ever collected. It’s like I have a piece of home with me, wherever I go.”

“Except it’s not.”

“In a way it is.”

“Non-sense. The past is passed, and a stone won’t do anything to bring it back. That’s stupid.”

“And you? Why do you want your stone so bad if mine are just stupid?”

“Mine is the source of my power. It’s useful, not just a decoration.”

“What kind of power?”

“Not your business.”

Al didn’t press on the question and kept on putting the stones back in their place. Envy tapped on their biceps with their fingers, the silence unnerving.

 

“I can shapeshift” they offered to break the silence.

“Really? Could you show me?”

“Not without the stone, no” Envy replied, annoyed.

“Oh right.”

  
  


The day was uneventful after that. Al bid Envy goodbye, who answered with a mere grumble. They couldn’t seem nice. But the boy was interesting. And they had a good heart. Envy was not used to this kind of things with their siblings. And they found they actually quite liked it.

  
  


When Al came back home, he found his brother waiting for him in his room.

“Where were you today?” Ed asked, cutting to the chase, arms crossed over his chest.

“At the beach.”

“All day? You know you can get sunburnt from that.”

“I took care.”

“Why did you move all your collection. At the beach.”

“I had to show it to a friend” Al tried to answer.

“What friend?”

“Not your business.”

“Al”. Ed’s tone got serious. “It is my business to know where you go and with whom. You’re my little brother. I have to take care of you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“No, you can’t. You’re too young for that.”

“That’s not what Envy thinks!”

“Envy? Is that your friend? It’s not even a name.” Ed chuckled.

“It is. It’s theirs. They’re a mermaid even if they don’t like being called that. Bet you don’t have mermaid friends uh?”

“Mermaids don’t exist, Al.”

“They do.”

“They don’t.”

“Yes, they totally do.”

“Stop being childish!”

“Am not.”

“Are too!”

 

That was when Al noticed something on his bed, a shining red rock.

“Eyh it’s mine!” he exclaimed, pointing at the stone.

“This? It’s nice. Can I keep it?” Ed asked. “I found it this morning, it had rolled downstairs.”

“No you can’t have it, I wanted to give it to Envy!”

“Your imaginary friend? Grow up, Al! I’m keeping it. You’re just going to throw it in the sea. Stupid baby.”

“I’m not a baby!”

“Why do you cry then? Only babies cry.”

“That’s not true. Ed, please it’s my friend’s. I have to bring it back, I promised.”

“Finder’s keeper!”

Ed took hold of the stone and was about to stand up when Al pushed him down back on the bed, making his big brother lose balance. 

“Give it back!” he shouted, jumping on the bed to straddle his brother.

“No! It’s mine now!”

Ed kept his closed fist out of reach of Al, trying to push him back using his feet. In the struggle, Al managed to land a punch on his brother who let go of the stone with a surprised cry.

Al snatched it before Ed could catch it again, scrambled off the bed, and ran downstairs as fast as he could. Nobody was home except his brother to stop him. So he ran as fast as his small legs enabled him to. He didn’t stop when his brother called out to him and apologized. Crying, he ran towards the only place he thought of: the cove. To Envy.

  
  


He never reached his friend. Once at the cove, Al cried out for them. Envy could only see him being taken away by two mysterious figures. Boiling with rage, Envy followed them when they brought Al struggling towards a boat. Raising themself up with their arms on the parapet, Envy found a good place to look at the scene and find a way to save their friend, not even wondering when Al had become someone he called a friend.

 

“Stop struggling, or Roa will have to use more force to stop you.” One of the figures said.

“Let me go!” Al managed to say.

“Should we stun him?” The bigger one asked.

“Nah, the boss doesn't want any harm to come to him. I don’t know why.”

A woman came on the bridge of the ship.

“You shouldn’t second-guess the boss’ wishes, Dolcetto.”

“Spare me the moral, Martel. As if you didn’t wonder what we’re doing here in the middle of nowhere when there are some good ships to plunder anywhere else. This kid can’t be that valuable.”

“Let me gooooo!”

“Maybe not, but he has an impressive fighting spirit” The one holding Al said. “Here, kid, but don’t try anything funny.”

He let go of Al, who fell down on the bridge with a groan. Dolcetto had a hand on what looked like the hold of a weapon.

“If you try to run, I’ll pin you like a butterfly to the bridge, got it kid?” he snarled.

“Be nice to him. He must be scared out of his wits” The bigger one (Roa) said.

“I'm’ not scared of you,” Al said between gritted teeth.

“An attitude? The boss is going to love you!” Martel said. “Let me tell him we have the kid. And the stone.”

“What stone?” Al tried. “There is no stone here.”

“Kid. I stole it from you seconds ago.” Martel answered, the glinting red stone between her nimble fingers.

 

Envy’s blood ran hot in their body, and they heaved themself up to the bridge, tail slamming the wood.

“Give me that back,” they growled.

“HUmmmm. Let me think. Nope,” Martel said before disappearing under the bridge faster than Envy could crawl to her.

“Envy?You’re here!”

“Al, not now. I have to get this back.”

Envy kept on slamming their powerful tail on the boards trying to weaken them and open up a pathway to get to Martel and what rightfully belonged to them.

 

“Wowow you’re going to break our ship, stop it!” Dolcetto tried.

“You! I’ll kill you first!”

“We just did our work!”

“Shut up!”

Roa was standing near them, a row in his large hands. Tail whipping in the air, Envy broke the row in two with a furious snarl.

“Okay, okay, jeez.”

“Tssk tssk, Envy, you really can’t control yourself.” A voice behind them said.

 

With a toothy grin, arms crossed on the parapet to keep himself at bridge level, there was Greed.

“Boss, this is not going like you said it would be!”

“Boss? Greed, you double-crossing son of a…”

“Son of nobody, thank you very much. And no, Dolcetto, it’s going exactly like I thought it would. It’s perfect.”

“Give me back what is mine. You promised.”

“Did you really trust me? My, Envy you’re getting naive with age. I bet it’s dementia.”

“You…”

“Oh stop insulting me, it’s getting tiring. Yes, you’re angry, yes you want to rip my throat but guess what?” Greed pulled the stone out of his vest. “I got you. Or maybe I don’t?”

“What?”

“Whoops, look at that, I’m so clumsy.”

Greed’s hand turned jet black and he closed his fist with a crushing sound.

“Whoops,” he said, opening his fist again to let go of some fine red dust. 

Envy let out a guttural scream, not even trying to let out words.

  
  


Envy hiccuped. Something was clawing inside of them, tearing them inside to go out, a fury unlike any they had known in their long life. A resonating roar rang out in the night. The slamming tail got longer, fatter, more dangerous, with spikes and bones jutting out of it. Arms turned into long powerful limbs with three articulations. Their face elongated, turning into a snout, fangs getting longer and sharper. The ship cracked and broke under the added weight. A water dragon was more than she could endure. Al fell into the water with a scream, Greed was laughing and Envy was roaring, a challenge to the universe. Only their long mane, a mirror of their long hair, remained of their usual form.

 

“Greed. I will kill you.” 

Their voice echoed like a thousand voices were talking with Envy. Greed was still laughing.

“What do you find funny about the end of your pitiful existence?”

“Look at yourself! You’re very welcome dear sibling.”

The dragon stopped.

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see? You changed. Look at you. You never needed the stone. Me neither. I broke mine ages ago. It’s all a lie Envy!”

“I…”

“Look, I helped you. Yes, I did it with my usual flair but I still helped you. Also, even under this form, you’ll break yourself before harming me. You’re still welcome to try. But your little human friend is about to drown. Your choice.”

 

With a growl, Envy turned their back to Greed, turning back into their usual form, swimming to help Al. The boy was struggling to remain above the surface, gulping water as he bobbed up and down with waves and among the debris. Envy took him in their arms.

“Eyh it’s over.”

“Envy? Was that...Was that you? I saw your shape-shifting”

“You sure did, buddy.”

Al laughed weakly.

“Yeah, I’m glad.”

He closed his eyes and fell on Envy’s shoulders. Panick rising, Envy shook him gently, and only got a snore in answer.

  
  


When Envy arrived at the cove, a man with dark hair and a boy with a golden braid were waiting.

“Al, we’re there.”

With a groan, Al woke up, sleep dulling his eyes. 

“I still want to sleep…”

“AL! AL oh my god!”

“Ed?”

Al snapped awake and left Envy’s arms to launch himself towards his brother. They hugged when they met, melting into each other as if they wanted to become one.

“Al, oh god I’m so sorry. I thought...Oh my god.”

“Eyh, I’m here, Don’t worry brother, I’m here. It’s all good now.”

“And you are?” The man with the dark hair asked.

“Envy.”

“Thank you for bringing Al home.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

“Envy” Al asked still in his brother’s embrace (no that didn’t hurt Envy at all).

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to leave now that you got your powers back?”

“Let me think…You know what? I’m quite comfortable here. So no.”

“Wait. Your mermaid friend was real?!”

“I’m not a mermaid, short stack.”

“I’M NOT SHORT I’M STILL GROWING.”

Yeah, Envy definitely could get used to this.


End file.
